desired he would distribute them to the others, which he did, seemingly to the satisfaction of every one. A youth about ten or twelve years of age, either his son or grandson, seemed to be the person of most note, and had the greatest share. After the distribution was over, they all returned ashore. Mr. Forster and his party being out in the country botanising, his servant, a feeble man, was beset by five or six fellows, who would have stripped him, if, that moment, one of the party had not come to his assistance; after which, they made off with a hatchet they had got from him.

On the 17th I went ashore to look for the chief, in order to complain of the outrage committed as above; but he was not in the neighbourhood. Being ashore in the afternoon, a person came and told me Oree wanted to see me. I went with the man, and was conducted to a large house, where the chief, and several other persons of note, were assembled, in council, as well as I could understand. After I was seated and some conversation had passed among them, Oree made a speech, and was answered by another. I understood no more of either, than just to know it regarded the robbery committed the day before. The chief then began to assure me, that neither he, nor any one present (who were the principal chiefs in the neighbourhood) had any hand in it; and desired me to kill, with the guns, all those which had. I assured him that I was satisfied that neither he, nor those present, were at all concerned in the affair; and that I should do with the fellows as he desired, or any others who where guilty of the like crimes. Having asked where the fellows were, and desired they would bring them to me that I might do with them as he had said; his answer was, they were gone to the mountains, and he could not get them. Whether this was the case or not, I will not pretend to say. I knew fair means would never make them deliver them up; and I had no intention to try others. So the affair dropt, and the council broke up.

In the evening, some of the gentlemen went to a dramatic entertainment. The piece represented a girl as running away with us from Otaheite; which was in some degree true; as a young woman had taken a passage with us down to Ulietea, and happened now to be present at the representation of her own adventures; which had such an effect upon her, that it was with great difficulty our gentlemen could prevail upon her to see the play out, or to refrain from tears while it was acting. The piece concluded with the reception she was supposed to meet with from her friends at her return; which was not a very favourable These people can add little extempore pieces to their entertainments when they see occasion. Is it not then reasonable to suppose that this was intended as a satire against this girl, and to discourage others from following her steps?

one.

In the morning of the 18th Oree came on board with a present of fruit, stayed dinner, and in the afternoon desired to see some great guns fired, shotted, which I complied with. The reason of his making this request was his hearing, from Oedidee and our Otaheitean passengers, that we had so done at their island. The chief would have had us fire at the hills; but I did not approve of that, lest the shot should fall short, and do some mischief. Besides, the effect was better seen in the water. Some of the petty officers, who had leave to go into the country for their amusement, took two of the natives with them to be their guides, and to carry their bags, containing nails, hatchets, &c., the current cash we traded with here; which the fellows made off with in the following artful manner :-The gentlemen had with them two muskets for shooting birds. After a shower of rain, their guides pointed out some for them to shoot. One of the muskets having missed fire several times, and the other having gone off, the instant the fellows saw themselves secure from both, they ran away, leaving the gentlemen gazing after them with so much surprise, that no one had presence of mind to pursue them.

The 19th, showery morning; fair afternoon; nothing happened worthy of note. Early in the morning of the 20th, three of the officers set out on a shooting party, rather contrary to my inclination; as I found the natives, at least some of them, were continually watching every opportunity to rob straggling parties, and were daily growing more daring. About three o'clock in the afternoon, I got intelligence that they were seized and stripped of everything they had about them. Upon this I immediately went on shore with a boat's crew, accompanied by Mr. Forster, and took possession of a large house with all its effects, and

two chiefs, whom I found in it; but this we did in such a manner that they hardly knew what we were about, being unwilling to alarm the neighbourhood. In this situation I remained till I heard the officers had got back safe, and had all their things restored to them: then I quitted the house; and presently after everything in it was carried off. When I got on board, I was informed of the whole affair by the officers themselves. Some little insult on their part induced the natives to seize their guns, on which a scuffle ensued, some chiefs interfered, took the officers out of the crowd, and caused everything which had been taken from them to be restored. This was at a place where we had before been told, that a set of fellows had formed themselves into a gang, with a resolution to rob every one who should go that way. It should seem, from what followed, that the chief could not prevent this, or put a stop to these repeated outrages. I did not see him this evening, as he was not come into the neighbourhood when I went on board; but I learnt from Oedidee that he came soon after, and was so concerned at what had happened that he wept. Daylight no sooner broke upon us on the 21st, than we saw upwards of sixty canoes under sail going out of the harbour, and steering over for Ulietea. On our inquiring the reason, we were told that the people in them were Earecoies, and were going to visit their brethren in the neighbouring isles. One may almost compare these men to freemasons; they tell us they assist each other when need requires; they seem to have customs among them which they either will not or cannot explain. Oedidee told us he was one; Tupia was one; and yet I have not been able to get any tolerable idea of this set of men from either of them. Oedidee denies that the children they have by their mistresses are put to death, as we understood from Tupia and others. I have had some conversation with Omai on this subject, and find that he confirms everything that is said upon it in the narrative of my former voyage

*

Oedidee, who generally slept on shore, came off with a message from Oree, desiring I would land with twenty-two men, to go with him to chastise the robbers. The messenger brought with him, by way of assisting his memory, twenty-two pieces of leaves, a method customary amongst them. On my receiving this extraordinary message, I went to the chief for better information; and all I could learn of him was, that these fellows were a sort of banditti, who had formed themselves into a body with a resolution of seizing and robbing our people wherever they found them, and were now armed for that purpose; for which reason he wanted me to go along with him to chastise them. I told him, if I went, they would fly to the mountains; but he said they were resolved to fight us, and therefore desired I would destroy both them and their house; but begged I would spare those in the neighbourhood, as also the canoes and the Whenooa. By way of securing these, he presented me with a pig as a peace-offering for the Whenooa. It was too small to be meant for anything but a ceremony of this kind. This sensible old chief could see (what, perhaps, none of the others ever thought of) that everything in the neighbourhood was at our mercy, and therefore took care to secure them by this method, which I suppose to be of weight with them. When I returned on board, I considered of the chief's request, which, upon the whole, appeared an extraordinary one. I, however, resolved to go, lest these fellows should be (by our refusal) encouraged to commit greater acts of violence; and, as their proceeding would soon reach Ulietea, where I intended to go next, the people there might be induced to treat us in the same manner, or worse, they being more numerous. Accordingly, I landed with forty-eight men, including officers, Mr. Forster, and some others of the gentlemen. The chief joined us with a few people, and we began to march, in search of the banditti, in good order. As we proceeded, the chief's party increased like a snow-ball. Oedidee, who was with us, began to be alarmed, observing that many of the people in our company were of the very party we were going against, and at last telling us that they were only leading us to some place where they could attack us to advantage. Whether there was any truth in this, or it was only Oedidee's fears, I will not pretend to say; he, however, was the only person we could confide in, and we regulated our motions according to the information he had given

us.

After marching some miles, we got intelligence that the men we were going after had fled to the mountains; but I think this was not till I had declared to the chief I would *For a full account of the constitution of the Areois see the Appendix.-ED.

proceed no farther; for we were then about crossing a deep valley, bounded on each side by steep rocks, where a few men, with stones only, might have made our retreat difficult, if their intentions were what Oedidee had suggested, and which he still persisted in. Having come to a resolution to return, we marched back in the same order as we went, and saw, in several places, people, who had been following us, coming down from the sides of the hills with their arms in their hands, which they instantly quitted, and hid in the bushes, when they saw they were discovered by us. This seemed to prove that there must have been some foundation for what Oedidee had said; but I cannot believe the chief had any such design, whatever the people might have. In our return, we halted at a convenient place to refresh ourselves. I ordered the people to bring us some cocoa-nuts, which they did immediately: indeed, by this time, I believe many of them wished us on board out of the way; for although no one step was taken that could give them the least alarm, they certainly were in terror. Two chiefs brought each of them a pig, a dog, and some young plantain trees, the usual peace-offerings, and, with due ceremony, presented them singly to me. Another brought a

very large hog, with which he followed us to the ship. After this we continued our course to the landing-place, where I caused several volleys to be fired, to convince the natives that we could support a continual fire. This being done, we all embarked and went on board; and soon after the chief, following, brought with him a quantity of fruit, and sat down with us to dinner. We had scarce dined, before more fruit was brought us by others, and two hogs; so that we were likely to make more by this little excursion than by all the presents we had made them. It certainly gave them some alarm to see so strong a party of men march into their country, and probably gave them a better opinion of fire-arms than they had before; for I believe they had but an indifferent, or rather contemptible, idea of muskets in general, having never seen any fired but at birds, &c., by such of our people as used to straggle about the country, the most of them but indifferent marksmen, losing generally two shots out of three, their pieces often missing fire, and being slow in charging. Of all this they had taken great notice, and concluded, as well they might, that fire-arms were not so terrible things as they had been taught to believe.

When the chiefs took leave in the evening, they promised to bring us the next day a very large supply of provisions. In the article of fruit they were as good as their word; but of hogs, which we most wanted, they brought far less than we expected. Going ashore in the afternoon, I found the chief just sitting down to dinner. I cannot say what was the occasion of his dining so late. As soon as he was seated, several people began chewing the pepper-root; about a pint of the juice of which, without any mixture, was the first dish, and was despatched in a moment. A cup of it was presented to me, but the manner of brewing it was at this time sufficient. Oedidee was not so nice, but took what I refused. After this the chief washed his mouth with cocoa-nut water; then he ate of repe, plantain, and mahee, of each not a little; and, lastly, finished his repast by eating, or rather drinking, about three pints of popoie, which is made of bread-fruit, plantains, mahee, &c., beat together, and diluted with water till it is of the consistence of a custard. This was at the outside of his house, in the open air; for at this time a play was acting within, as was done almost every day in the neighbourhood; but they were such poor performances that I never attended. I observed that, after the juice had been squeezed out of the chewed pepper-root for the chief, the fibres were carefully picked up and taken away by one of his servants. On my asking what he intended to do with it, I was told he would put water to it, and strain it again. Thus he would make what I will call small beer.

The 23d, wind easterly, as it had been ever since we left Otaheite. Early in the morning we unmoored, and at eight weighed and put to sea. The good old chief was the last man who went out of the ship. At parting I told him we should see each other no more; at which he wept, and said, "Let your sons come; we will treat them well." Oree is a good man, in the utmost sense of the word; but many of the people are far from being of that disposition, and seem to take advantage of his old age, Teraderre, his grandson and heir, being yet but a youth. The gentle treatment the people of this isle ever met with from me, and the careless and imprudent manner in which many of our people had rambled about in the country, from a vain opinion that fire-arms rendered them invincible, encouraged many

at Huaheine to commit acts of violence, which no man at Otaheite ever durst attempt. During our stay here we got bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, &c., more than we could well consume, but not hogs enough by far to supply our daily expense; and yet it did not appear that they were scarce in the isle. It must, however, be allowed, that the number we took away, when last here, must have thinned them greatly, and at the same time stocked the isle with our articles. Besides, we now wanted a proper assortment of trade; what we had being nearly exhausted, and the few remaining red feathers being here but of little value, when compared to the estimation they stand in at Otaheite. This obliged me to set the smiths to work, to make different sorts of iron tools, nails, &c., in order to enable me to procure refreshments at the other isles, and to support my credit and influence among the natives.

CHAPTER XV.—ARRIVAL AT ULIETEA, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE RECEPTION WE MET WITH THERE, AND THE SEVERAL INCIDENTS WHICH HAPPENED DURING OUR STAY. A REPORT OF TWO SHIPS BEING AT HUAHEINE. PREPARATIONS TO LEAVE THE ISLAND, AND THE REGRET THE INHABITANTS SHOWED ON THE OCCASION. THE CHARACTER OF OEDIDEE, WITH SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE ISLANDS.

As soon as we were clear of the harbour, we made sail, and stood over for the south end of Ulietea. Oree took the opportunity to send a man with a message to Opoony. Being little wind all the latter part of the day, it was dark before we reached the west side of the isle, where we spent the night. The same light variable wind continued till ten o'clock next morning, when the trade-wind at east prevailed, and we ventured to ply up to the harbour, first sending a boat to lie in anchorage in the entrance. After making a few trips, we got before the channel, and with all our sails set, and the head-way the ship had acquired, shut her in as far as she would go; then dropped the anchor, and took in the sails. This is the method of getting into most of the harbours which are on the lee-side of these isles; for the channels, in general, are too narrow to ply in. We were now anchored between the two points of the reef which form the entrance; each not more than two-thirds the length of a cable from us, and on which the sea broke with such height and violence, as, to people less acquainted with the place, would have been terrible. Having all our boats out with anchors and warps in them, which were presently run out, the ship warped into safety, where we dropped anchor for the night. While this work was going forward, my old friend Oreo the chief, and several more, came to see us. The chief came not empty. Next day we warped the ship into, and moored her in, a proper berth, so as to command all the shores around us. In the mean time a party of us went ashore to pay the chief a visit, and to make the customary present. At our first entering his house, we were met by four or five old women, weeping and lamenting, as it were, most bitterly, and at the same time cutting their heads with instruments made of sharks' teeth, till the blood ran plentifully down their faces and on their shoulders. What was still worse, we were obliged to submit to the embraces of these old hags, and by that means were all besmeared with blood. This ceremony (for it was merely such) being over, they went out, washed themselves, and immediately after appeared as cheerful as any of the company. Having made some little stay, and given my present to the chief and his friends, he put a hog and some fruit into my boat, and came on board with us to dinner. In the afternoon, we had a vast number of people and canoes about us, from different parts of the island. They all took up their quarters in our neighbourhood, where they remained feasting for some days. understood the most of them were Eareoys.

We

The 26th afforded nothing remarkable, excepting that Mr. Forster, in his botanical excursions, saw a burying-place for dogs, which they called Marai no te Oore. But, I think, we ought not to look upon this as one of their customs; because few dogs die a natural death, being generally, if not always, killed and eaten, or else given as an offering to the gods. Probably this might be a Marai or altar, where this sort of offering was made; or it might have been the whim of some person to have buried his favourite dog in this manner.

But

be it as it will, I cannot think it is a general custom in the nation; and, for my own part, I neither saw nor heard of such a thing before.

Early in the morning of the 27th, Oreo, his wife, son, daughter, and several more of his friends, made us a visit and brought with them a good quantity of all manner of refreshments; little having as yet been got from anybody else. They staid dinner; after which a party of us accompanied them on shore, where we were entertained with a play, called Mididdij Harramy, which signifies the Child is coming. It concluded with the representation of a woman in labour, acted by a set of great brawny fellows, one of whom at last brought forth a strapping boy, about six feet high, who ran about the stage, dragging after him a large wisp of straw which hung by a string from his middle. I had an opportunity of seeing this acted another time, when I observed, that the moment they had got hold of the fellow who represented the child, they flattened or pressed his nose. From this I judged that they do so by their children when born, which may be the reason why all in general have flat noses. This part of the play, from its newness, and the ludicrous manner in which it was performed, gave us, the first time we saw it, some entertainment, and caused a loud laugh, which might be the reason why they acted it so often afterwards. But this, like all their other pieces, could entertain us no more than once; especially as we could gather little from them, for want of knowing more of their language.

The 28th was spent by me in much the same manner as the preceding day, viz., in entertaining my friends, and being entertained by them; Mr. Forster and his party in the country botanising. Next morning, we found several articles had been stolen out of our boats lying at the buoy, about sixty or seventy yards from the ship. As soon as I was informed of it, I went to the chief to acquaint him therewith. I found that he not only knew they were stolen, but by whom, and where they were; and he went immediately with me in my boat in pursuit of them. After proceeding a good way along shore, towards the south end of the island, the chief ordered us to land near some houses, where we did not wait long before all the articles were brought to us, except the pinnace's iron tiller, which I was told was still farther off. But, when I wanted to go after it, I found the chief unwilling to proceed; and he actually gave me the slip, and retired into the country. Without him I knew I could do nothing. The peeple began to be alarmed when they saw I was for going farther; by which I concluded that the tiller was out of their reach also. I therefore sent one of them to the chief to desire him to return. He returned accordingly; when we sat down, and had some victuals set before us; thinking perhaps that, as I had not breakfasted, I must be hungry, and not in a good humour. Thus I was amused till two hogs were produced, which they entreated me to accept. This I did, and then their fears vanished; and I thought myself not ill off in having gotten two good hogs for a thing which seemed to be quite out of my reach. Matters being thus settled, we returned on board, and had the company of the chief and his son to dinner. After that we all went ashore, where a play was acted for the entertainment of such as would spend their time in looking at it. Besides these plays, which the chief caused frequently to be acted, there were a set of strolling players in the neighbourhood, who performed every day. But their pieces seemed to be so much alike, that we soon grew tired of them; especially as we could not collect any interesting circumstances from them. We, our ship, and our country, were frequently brought on the stage; but on what account I know not. It can hardly be doubted that this was designed as a compliment to us, and probably not acted but when some of us were present. I generally appeared at Oreo's theatre towards the close of the play, and twice at the other, in order to give my mite to the actors. The only actress at Oreo's theatre was his daughter, a pretty brown girl, at whose shrine, on these occasions, many offerings were made by her numerous votaries. This, I believe, was one great inducement to her father's

giving us these entertainments so often.

Early in the morning of the 30th, I set out with the two boats, accompanied by the two Mr. Forsters, Oedidee, the chief, his wife, son, and daughter, for an estate which Oedidee called his, situated at the north end of the island. There I was promised to have hogs and fruit in abundance; but when we came there we found that poor Oedidee could not command one single thing, whatever right he might have to the Whenooa, which was now in possession